


Needs and Desires

by inadistantworld



Series: That Forever Kind of Love [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Date, Just a little bit of blood because vampires?, Museum Date, Semi-Public Sex, Smut, Vampire Vex'ahlia, museum sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 17:04:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15053828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inadistantworld/pseuds/inadistantworld
Summary: Vex needs to feed and Percy is a very handsome and convenient source, so of course she says yes when he asks her on a date. Things progress a little differently than she thought they would.





	Needs and Desires

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't been writing much, been dealing with uhhhhhhh a lot? But I've wanted to write this for a while and planned to do it for the random relationship week thing last week but am the literal worst, so here it is now. Originally not smut, but I figured if I can't remember how to write then I should stick with what I know.  
> Hope it's not the worst, thanks for reading

Vex’ahlia and Vax’ildan had been around for a long time, though they handled it very differently. Vax believed in subtly. He had no interest in people seeing portraits of him or getting involved in world changing events, he believed that the less attention they drew to themselves the safer they were. To be fair, he was not wrong. Vex did think he was boring though.

What was the point in living forever if you never took advantage of it? Of course when her brother caught wind of big events coming their way she left with him, and of course she was careful to make sure her dinner didn’t remember what exactly happened the night before, but she was not a passive and secret immortal. She posed for oil paintings from great artists when she heard of them, and when photography began she found many opportunities to get her picture taken. Selfies were on of her favorite changes in the world, to show off a little and wonder how many people thought they’d seen her in history books or art galleries. Where Vax silently took his victims and erased any memory of him and what happened, Vex wooed them and gave them a night to remember, then erased the messy parts and blurred enough of her features to make them constantly question who she was.

And while Vax worried about her, wondered how long it would take for someone to catch on, he knew that he couldn’t change her and instead focused on doing his part of keeping them safe and, for the most part, secret.

They had spent their entire very long lives together, other than when they fed. It wasn’t that they thought the other did it wrong, it was just that their hunting styles were too different to compliment each other. Besides, vampires have always been solitary hunters.

 

It was pretty early in the night, just past sundown, when Vex found her target. A shock of white hair, sharp blue eyes, long, slim fingers that touched his tie more often than it should have. Nervous, Vex could see the little flutter at the vein in his neck when he caught her staring so openly at him. Handsome, nervous, and, from the way his ears turned pink and a flush crept up his neck to his cheeks before he hurriedly looked away, interested. Perfect for the night.

Vex smiled and strode over to him. She leaned on the counter beside him, she made sure to look up at him through her eyelashes and lean forward just a little to give him something to look at. “You don’t look like this is your kind of place.”

He laughed a little and rubbed the back of his neck, “No, I suppose it’s not.” His eyes widened a little, “Not that it isn’t a nice place,” he said hurriedly, “it’s not that I think these places aren’t—”

She touched his hand lightly, “Don’t worry, darling, I understand. Why are you here, then? You don’t seem to like to dance and,” she raised an eyebrow at the glass in his hand, no doubt cheap whiskey that he paid too much for, “I guarantee you could find better things to drink literally anywhere else. Not to mention,” she raised the hand not touching his and ran his tie between her fingers, not failing to run the back of her hand against his chest as she did so. She felt his heart pounding and she wondered briefly how Vax could enjoy the hunt by just glamouring his prey to make them follow him blindly into a dark place. “you’re a little overdressed,” she finished.

He licked his lips and took a deep, steadying breath. “My uh, my friends wanted to go out. They’re people who like this kind of thing.” He nodded to the dance floor where a very tall, bald man was dancing with a slightly less tall redhead and a short man with a ponytail was dancing with a slightly less short woman with white-blonde hair. “I love them,” he said with a quiet fondness that almost went unnoticed, “but I’m not a very party person I suppose.”

“What kind of person are you, then?” She asked with a sly smile and her thumb rubbed small, light circles against his hand.

He paused and then said quietly, “I like beautiful things.”

Vex hummed her agreement, “It seems that we have that in common. Would your friends be terribly upset if we went somewhere else? I’d like to see what you think is so beautiful.”

She could see the wheels turning in his head, feel his pulse under his hand, hear his heart in his chest. She could practically taste the desire in him and that was exactly what she wanted. It had been so much easier than she thought, which was normally so boring, but this one was something interesting even if he wasn’t difficult to convince.

“I…cannot tell if that is a line or if you mean it.” It was a cautious answer.

She winked and said, “Can’t it be both?” Because it was true, there was a piece of her that did want to know more than just what his blood tasted like.

He looked over to his friends again for a few moments and then said, “Would you go on a date with me?”

The question struck Vex to her core, she had of course gone on dates, she had even had casual relationships (though only one serious one that lasted the better part of a century and ended with her and Vax fleeing the country and laying low in Marquet for almost a hundred and fifty years after to avoid any awkward run ins), but it was not the way the night was supposed to go. Sure, sometimes her food would spend a few hours with her, they almost always took a more serious interest in her, but this was possibly the first time that she found it hard to say no. In fact, if she didn’t know better, she would have said her heart skipped a beat.

“Yes.” It was a simple, quiet word in comparison to the game she had been playing. It mostly came from shock and knowing that, even if it was not what she expected it was still the means to an end. There was a small part, tiny really, that said yes from a very old part of her that remembered what having a crush on someone normal without the thought of immortality on her mind.

Percy looked away, a small smile pulling at his lips and she watched him straighten up and his eyes flick to his friends again. “I should—ah, I should tell them I’ll be going.”

Vex watched him nervously back up towards his friends. He talked to them quickly, his eyes drifted back to her then jumped away again. She was used to men who suddenly became nervous, she was almost unnaturally beautiful and had centuries to practice her charm, but it was much more amusing with this one. She did not mind letting this drag on a little longer.

Percy was a confident man for the most part. He knew he was handsome, intelligent, of good social standing, and he believed he was funny enough. It was not a lack of confidence that made him nervous around Vex, it was the pure fact that as good as he was she was better. There was no doubt in his mind about that. Keyleth would have said that he was good enough for anyone he wanted, Pike would have made the point that it was up to Vex to decide who was good enough for her. But Percy knew better. In a world of mortals Vex was otherworldly. It was that knowledge that made him something like nervous, that he could be the best goddamn mortal alive and she would outclass him without even trying. But he couldn’t even classify what he felt as nerves. It was astonishment that she had any interest in him.

Vex sent her brother a quick text saying she might be a little longer than she thought but not to worry, then tucked her phone back into her dark jeans and waited for Percy to come back. He smiled and held his arm out for her to take, then led her out of the bar.

“They don’t mind you leaving the party early?” Vex asked as the cool night air hit her skin.

He chuckled, “They are actually quite happy that I’m…spending some time with—” he cleared his throat before he could say something about how beautiful she was.

Vex didn’t need him to say it to know what he was thinking. “In all this excitement I never told you my name.” She didn’t offer it right away and instead turned to look at him with teasing glance.

“Percival,” he answered.

Vex thought it was funny he didn’t ask for hers, how gullible and naïve humans could be. “Vex’ahlia,” she told him anyways.

“Vex’ahlia,” he said slowly. “It’s a lovely name.” He opened the door to a sleek, silver car and she slid into the passenger seat. He shut the door behind her and walked around to the driver’s seat.

Vex arched an eyebrow as she looked around the car, black leather, obviously sporty and fast, probably enormously expensive. She liked it.

Percy didn’t drive like his car though, there was no reckless speeding and cutting others off, he was a smart driver, not overly careful but not dangerous. Vex didn’t mind danger but ending up in a ditch somewhere wasn’t exactly the best way to spend her night, even if it wouldn’t be the first time she’d been in a situation like that. It was always a hassle disposing of the body with Vax so nobody went looking to ask them questions.

Even though Percy had said date, even looked like he meant it, Vex had expected a quick dinner and then a trip back to his place, so she was understandably surprised when they parked in the garage for an art museum.

“Are you breaking me in?” She asked cheekily, but truthfully, she had no idea what he was planning. It was almost 10 PM, the place should have closed a while ago.

“I won’t have to, on the first Saturday of every month they are open until midnight and serve wine and chocolates as a sort of date night promotion.” Percy got out of the car and Vex followed suit.

Percy once again held out his arm for her and she looped hers through his and let him lead her to the elevator. “I’ve never been to this one,” Vex said as they rode the elevator up.

“Really? It’s the Emon Art Museum, it’s the most well-known art museum on this side of the country. Most people around here go for high school field trips and that sort of thing at some point.”

“I moved here recently.” Relatively recently at least, she’d been in Emon with Vax for perhaps forty years now.

“Then I’m glad I could show it to you. If you enjoy beautiful things there are few places in the world where you can see this quality.” He glanced at her and it was so clear to Vex what he was thinking. _Anywhere you are would put this entire museum to shame._ It was incredibly sweet and it made Vex shift her eyes away.

“Mr. de Rolo, I had no idea you’d be coming by tonight. Weren’t you going out with your friends tonight?” An older security guard by the door asked as they walked in.

“I was, but Ms. Vex’ahlia here and I got to talking and I thought she’d like to see this place. She’s never been before, so we’ll have to be kind to her.” Percy winked and the older man chuckled.

“I’m sure Mr. Shorthalt was more than happy to send Percy on his way with someone as lovely as you, ma’am,” he bowed his head slightly.

Vex laughed and said, “Flattery, dear, will get you everywhere.”

“I believe that would be my cue to move on. I’ll talk to you later, keep up the good work.” Percy pat the man on the shoulder and started walking towards the counter and the door into the main part of the museum.

“You must come here a lot to have such a familiar relationship with him,” Vex commented.

“I do. It’s my favorite place in this city, I always find something new to catch my eye.”

Vex noticed Percy wasn’t slowing down at the counter and was instead walking straight past it towards the entrance. “Do you have a season pass or something? I thought this date night would be a little pricier, everything with wine and chocolate usually is.”

He smiled again and looked down at the floor, “It’s something like that. Normally there is an additional cost for everything, but I’m a little different.”

“Oh?”

He ran his free hand through his hair and went to say something when the woman behind the counter walked over, “Mr. de Rolo! You should have told us you were coming, we would have made accommodations for you. A private showing perhaps. I can grab a bottle of our finest wine for you and your date if you like.”

“No need for a private showing or anything, you know that. I’m happy with the way things are now, if I just looked at my favorite paintings all the time I would miss much better ones. But that bottle of wine would be lovely. I’m also not available for business tonight, purely for fun, so if you could let Yennen know that before he comes looking for me that would be lovely.”

“Of course Mr. de Rolo. Would you like me to take your jacket?”

It took Vex a moment to realize the woman was talking to her and asking about her leather jacket. “No, no I’m fine thank you.” The woman nodded, said her goodbyes, and went to tell someone about wine and whatever else she was supposed to tell them about _Mr. de Rolo_. Vex then turned to Percy and raised her eyebrows. “What, do you own this place?”

Percy chuckled and started leading her to the door again. “No, my family doesn’t own this museum, the city does. But we do make contributions and my father was on the board and my older sister was a restorer before they died. My youngest sister handles most of the work now, donations and grants, even funding for those school field trips I mentioned. School trips don’t pay for admission, the de Rolos pay for them. We’ve also donated a handful of pieces over the years. Technically they’re on loan to the museum, but I believe they’ve found a good home here.”

Vex was shocked into silence for a few moments. “Am I on a date with a prince right now?”

He gave her a sidelong glance. “Just a lord, I’m afraid.”

“A lord?” How long had it been since she’d had a lord?

“It’s not particularly common anymore, and more than anything a useless title, a figurehead, but yes. My sister is better at it than I am though, I prefer to spend my time visiting places like this rather than handling the paperwork.” He cleared his throat and paused. They were standing in the center of a large open room with three or four different doorways they could go down and a few large pieces on the walls. “Do you have a favorite artist?”

She had hired her favorite artists for the most part, so the safe answer was, “I liked what you said earlier. Show me something I’ve never seen before.”

“Do you like Baroque paintings?”

Vex remembered vividly that time and the art in it. That was back in a time where someone could live in a mansion for almost two hundred years and not get noticed. Vex had commissioned quite a few paintings. And then someone started suspecting them and they had to flee in the night and left them all behind. She had searched for some of those paintings for a few decades afterwards, but they had burned the mansion down and it seemed none of them had made it out.

“It’s one of my favorite styles,” Vex answered.

“Then we’ll save them for last. We have an extensive collection, I think you’ll like it.” He guided her down the hall to the left.

They passed a number of servers with silver platters with champagne, red wine, white wine, and assorted chocolates. Vex took a glass of the red that a server who addressed Percy and her specifically brought and politely turned down the chocolates. She put the glass to her lips once to taste the wine she wouldn’t be able to drink again. It was something she rarely did, tasting things she could never have sometimes made the situation painful, but here it was interesting and fun. Besides, what was Baroque without extravagance and decadence and the drama of immortality, temptation, and desire?

Vex looked at Percy’s profile while they moved from one painting to another. He would have looked beautiful in portraits like these. The striking white hair, strong jaw, straight nose. But those things didn’t show what really stood out. He looked like a man who should have a portrait of him like one of these, the proof of his lordship, of his class. But of something more, something—

He smiled at her and she lost her thought. “It’s getting late, they’re about to close.” Vex was surprised to find out it was almost midnight already. They had spent almost a full hour in the Baroque exhibit. Dramatic colors and settings, scenes from the Calamity, the folly of man, religious paintings, decadence and pain, royalty and suffering. It had been a time of enlightenment, of introspection, of beauty. Perhaps she should have expected it when Percy stopped in front of one last painting, she’d been alive (or something like it) for long enough to pick up on foreshadowing.

“It’s funny, when I saw you tonight I thought I was dreaming,” he said quietly, “I’ve spent so much time here that I thought I was seeing things. This,” he turned to face the painting they stopped in front of and Vex followed suit. “this is the portrait of an unknown woman, suspected of something supernatural and the town formed a mob to burn her mansion down. There were a number of paintings of her, most of them burned beyond repair, but we managed to save this one. It’s been hidden for a long time, but my sister helped restore this one personally. Perhaps it’s just me but…she looks like she could be your sister.” He laughed and shook his head, “She’s not of course, but perhaps a distant relative. Or maybe just a look alike. But I thought it would be something interesting you had probably never seen before to end on.”

Interesting yes, something new no.

It was her from hundreds of years ago. A dark red dress that showed a considerable amount of cleavage, her dark hair in her traditional and well-loved braid that the artist had spent almost a half hour positioning if she remembered correctly. And a glass of what looked like red wine in her hand.

Vex felt an unexpected wave of discomfort as she looked at the painting Percy was showing her. “It’s lovely,” she said after a moment.

Percy must have picked up on something, “I’m sorry. That must seem pretty creepy. It’s not why I brought you here or even why I wanted to talk to you more. I just thought—”

She smiled and turned to him. She touched his cheek and said, “I mean it. It’s beautiful. I’m just shocked that you thought I could look like someone so…” she looked back to the painting with a little bit of wistfulness, “gorgeous.” She really had been at the top of her game then. And it had been so much easier to eat back then, it was dark at night and she didn’t have to worry about someone snapping a photo of her with blood on her shirt afterwards.

His eyes grew soft and he leaned into her hand a little, “Oh, it’s not a stretch at all.”

The servers began leading people out, but they seemed to part around them like they didn’t even see Percy. “Should we be leaving?” She slid her hand down his cheek, pausing briefly on his neck to feel the fluttering pulse, then down his chest and over his heart where she left it pressed against him.

“We don’t have to. I’ve spent many nights here after hours, but if you would like me to take you home—”

“No,” she looked back to the lost portrait, then back to him, “there’s so much more to see. If you don’t mind staying a little longer with me, I’m sure there’s many more beautiful things we could find.” Her hand drifted a little lower then she pulled it away.

Percy took a deep, steadying breath, then said, “I’ll have a word with them. Make sure they give us some privacy to explore.”

She arched an eyebrow, “They’ll let us just wander around without keeping an eye on this mysterious woman who has occupied the attention of their most important man all night? I could be an art thief you know.”

“I believe I’ll take my chances,” he said quietly with a charming smile. “They’ll leave us be, I’ll make sure of it.”

He grabbed her hand, gave it a small squeeze, and then turned and walked off towards the desk.

Vex watched him go and then turned back to the old picture. “An unknown woman,” she whispered and sighed. “Vax would be proud to know they never got our names out of that place.”

She admired it for a while, taking in all the details she had almost forgotten. The dark red lipstick on the glass, the dangerous glint in her eyes. She missed that dress, it really had looked wonderful.

“We have the place to ourselves for as long as we want,” Percy said from behind her.

He was standing close, not like she could lean back and feel him, but she could smell him and it made her realize how hungry she was. And how good Percy smelled. She had picked him for a reason and it wasn’t to romantically walk through the gallery holding hands.

She set her glass of wine on the platter of on of the last servers walking out of the room. “Show me the places nobody ever sees.” She bit her lip and linked her fingers with his.

His lips twitched up into a small smile, “I can’t say I’ve ever taken advantage of the…security faults for something like this.”

“Then we’ll both have new experiences for tonight.” She stepped closer to him, leaving less than an inch between them, and her free hand swept his hair back and she teased the hair on the back of his neck. And then she leaned into him and he met her in the middle for a kiss that Vex hadn’t experienced in centuries.

“We’ve been talking about covering a blind spot in this exhibit, but we haven’t decided on how to do it yet, so it’s still not on the cameras. It has a…great view of the room it’s in.” Percy said cautiously, as if he was still not entirely sure he wasn’t crossing a line.

“It sounds like a wonderful next stop on the tour.”

“I thought so as well.” He glanced up at the camera, his cheeks and ears turned red, and he rubbed his thumb against her hand and led her down through a few rooms, one of them dedicated to a single artist. And then he pulled her into the corner of one of these rooms, and she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pressed her back against the wall, pulling him along with her.

“I hope you don’t mind if I take the spot with a view,” she said as she unbuttoned the top couple buttons of his shirt.

“I took you here to show you the art, I’d be offended if you didn’t take advantage of that.” He kissed her hungrily, grabbed her hip with one hand.

She thought about saying something, calling him a work of art, saying a witty joke, something flirty. Instead she kissed her way down to his throat and dragged her teeth over his skin. She could have done it then. All it would take would be a small amount of magic, something she had perfected so long ago, it would hide just enough to keep him from realizing what she was, then another small amount of magic to heal him after. Nothing at all.

He rocked his hips against her and she gasped against him. Her teeth were sharp by now, her gums aching from the change, her entire being begging her to take him. _After_ , she promised herself as her hands fumbled with the buckle of his belt.

“Vex’ahlia,” he whispered against her ear, whimpered even. Prayed. Like she was something more than human. Like she was worth his utter worship.

“Come on darling,” she said lightly as she pulled his cock free, “we haven’t even started yet.”

His laugh was cut off with a groan as she stroked him. “I didn’t think this far ahead, how do we plan to do this.”

“Fuck,” she tipped her head back against the wall as she realized what he was saying. Skinny jeans looked damn good on her but were not at all practical for this kind of thing. “I miss that fucking dress,” she hissed before Percy’s lips were on her neck.

He pushed her leather jacket down her shoulders and she finished shrugging it off until it hit the ground at her feet. She was so caught up in how he kissed her and in mourning the loss of that red dress. How many parties had she gone to in that dress and pulled some unsuspecting man into a dark alcove in that dress without a problem? And now skinny jeans, sexy and fun and a goddamn inconvenience.

She was thinking about that when Percy slipped his hand down her unbuttoned jeans and his fingers brushed her clit and she breathed out his name and a few choice expletives that had been quite common long ago. He pressed his forehead against the wall behind her and rubbed her clit until she was gripping his shirt and her hand stilled on him for a moment. “Whatever you want me to do is perfectly fine with me. If this is all you want right now,” he slid a finger inside of her, “then that’s fine.”

She bit her lip and she rolled her hips against his hand. “Who knew I’d find a man so interested in pleasing someone else.”

“What do you want, Vex?” he was panting, she could hear his heart pounding in his chest, his arousal spiking the air around them, she could feel his restraint and how tense he was. He was so willing to ignore his wants if she didn’t want to take off her damn pants, or if she just wanted to get off and leave.

She missed that fucking dress was the primary thought in her mind as gently pushed him a step back and yanked her boots off and wiggled her pants down and left them on the ground with her jacket. He smiled and shook his head, “You are possibly the strangest woman I’ve ever met.”

“Well, you did tell me it was a blind spot. Besides,” she pulled him back in and kissed him harshly, pressing her tongue into his mouth before he could find out how sharp her canines had become. When she stopped she pulled her shirt over her head and unclipped her bra to let it follow close behind. “I’m pretty good at not getting noticed.”

“I find that hard to believe.” He unbuttoned his shirt and she ran her hands up his chest.

“You have more muscle than I thought you would, you looked so skinny,” she teased and ran her fingers over his collarbone.

“I prefer to be called lean,” he joked and his hands found the softness of her hips. And, as if he had something to prove, he lifted her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around him. His length was pressed against her and her back was against the wall.

“A lean, handsome, and charming man. How could a girl be so lucky?”

“Funny, I was about to ask the same thing,” his voice was soft and it made Vex’s chest ache.

“You were about to ask how a girl could be so lucky to find you?” She teased.

He shook his head and laughed, “I suppose it’s just my enormous ego.”

“You lords are just impossible.” She rocked herself against him and drew his attention back to the matter at hand. “Now show me you aren’t all talk.”

With a few seconds of awkward maneuvering and no small amount of giggling and jokes as they rolled a condom from Percy’s wallet over him, Percy slipped inside of her with a groan and she sighed out his name again. He kissed her as he began to move, thrusting up into her, his fingers digging into her while her hands moved over his body. Her thumbs brushed his nipples and he moaned into her mouth. She filed away his sensitivity, as if she believed she would use it later, and left one hand to pinch and twist his nipple while her other moved between them to circle her clit.

She whimpered, drawing close, and his tongue ran along one of her fangs and she froze.

He pulled back when he felt her stiffen, and not in the way he would have expected her to as she came, but in a way that felt uncomfortable. He slowly let her legs go to the ground and pulled back a little to give her space. “What’s wrong?”

She held her breath, suddenly all too aware of him and his smell and the sound of his heart. She should have fed yesterday. “I’m sorry Percy,” she said after a moment.

“Don’t be sorry, you didn’t do anything—”

“It’s not that. It’s not you or this. I—” she closed her eyes and took a moment to collect herself. “I need to go.”

“Let me take you home, I—”

“Percy, darling, trust me,” she opened her eyes and looked up at him and she knew what she must look like, dangerous, deadly, terrifying. She could see it in the surprise in Percy’s eyes, “you don’t want to be near me right now. You should go. I’m not—”

He looked like he was studying her for a second before he said, “You’re her, the woman from the painting.” There was no question. Percy had been a man of science all his life, he had been studying and coming to conclusions all his life. There was evidence, how similar she looked to the woman in the painting and the strange reaction she’d had to it, how she had kissed his throat earlier, the sharpness of her teeth, the look in her eyes now as she tried to get him to leave but still didn’t reach for her clothes.

She looked away and it was enough of an answer for him. He never would have said he believed in vampires, but the world was an awfully big place and they had never been disproven. He shrugged his shirt off, “Does it hurt?”

She didn’t look at him, still stiff and naked and desperately trying to hold herself back. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Whatever you want from me, Vex. Whatever you need. If it’s not me, it’s someone else. I can’t be that terrible, can I?” He laughed nervously again that night, only this time it was truly nerves.

“That’s the problem. You’re not terrible at all. You’re wonderful. And I can’t—I can’t do what I usually do.”

“Kill me?” It was a quiet question with a loud, shocked answer.

Vex looked at him with wide eyes, “Gods no, I’m not some animal, I don’t need to kill to feed. I just—”

“Does it hurt?” He asked again.

“That’s not the point Percy, I—”

“I’m not going to pretend I understand what’s going on, I should probably be terrified honestly, but I promised I would give you what you want. And well, I’d rather you have it from me than from the next person you see on the street. I suppose it’s that ego of mine.” He didn’t step towards her like he so obviously wanted to, but he tilted his head slightly to show more of his neck.

“Percy…” she exhaled shakily, “we really shouldn’t.”

“You were going to anyways. Please Vex, if anything I’ve ever heard is true, the longer you wait the worse it’s going to get.”

“I’m so sorry for this,” she pulled him back to her and kissed him like they hadn’t stopped. It caught Percy by surprise, he had expected her to bite him and that be the end, but her hand was stroking him back to hardness and her other hand was looped around the back of his neck, drawing him closer. “Pretend for a moment again, that we’re normal right now,” she begged between kissing him.

“Strange definition of normal,” he joked as he picked her up again, “fucking in a museum after hours.”

“Yeah, well I’m only human.” He was inside her again and she kissed his neck.

“Vex,” he gasped when her teeth dragged against him. She paused, forcing herself not to continue, but he kept fucking into her and his fingernails dug half moon marks into her. “I trust you.” It was a simple statement that took her by surprise. “Don’t stop, I’ll be what you need.”

“It won’t hurt, I promise,” she whispered and he groaned as she sunk her teeth into his throat and drank.

He didn’t stop. They were just two people fucking in an art gallery and that meant he didn’t stop. There was a sharp, brief pain at his throat, but it dulled quickly and was simply numb. He didn’t even notice when she stopped until he heard her say his name and felt her lips press against him just below his jaw. “Are you close?”

“Yes,” his voice was strained from holding back for so long and she tightened around him.

“Then cum for me, Lord Percival de Rolo, show me what that ego is all about.”

His hips jerked forward a handful of times more before he cried out her name and grew still inside her.

Her fingers brushed over the place where his throat met his shoulder and she murmured a few words. The wound sealed, leaving small red marks and nothing more than a little light headedness. “Thank you, Percy,” she whispered.

“Anything for you,” he slowly let her down and Vex fished around in her jacket for a napkin so he could clean himself off. He wrapped the condom in it and began to button his shirt again with slow, heavy fingers.

Vex noticed and brushed his hands away and helped him button it back up again. “I’m sorry for all of this, but I promise you won’t remember it tomorrow.”

“Don’t take this from me,” he said softly, “I don’t…I don’t want to lose you yet.”

“It’s for your own good, Percy.”

“Vex’ahlia…please…” his hands found hers and she looked up into those bright blue eyes.

“You humans…” she smiled sadly and shook her head, “you’re all like puppies.”

“Some people like dogs.”

“I’ve always been a dog person. But you live such short lives. It never gets easier to lose one of you.”

“Handle that problem later, just…leave me a piece of you. The memory at least.” He wanted to say more. To say ‘You don’t have to keep me, but I can’t lose you. I felt like something drew us together tonight. I am not a religious man, the gods can go fuck themselves. But you…I could believe in you. Let me be what you need. More than tonight, more than dinner,’ but he couldn’t say that. He couldn’t ask for more. He was never worth her time to begin with, let alone this.

She wanted to kiss him again but she could still taste his blood in her mouth and she was sure he would too. So she settled for touching his cheek. And then she reached down and started pulling on her jeans. She checked her phone while Percy stood there, quiet and waiting for the verdict. She had a few texts from Vax, because he never knew how to send less than four texts it seemed.

**Glad you’re getting out, you’re not the same when you’re lonely.**

**I just mean that it’s been a rough few years and I know that we’ve had to play a little safer than you like. I’m happy that you’re starting to enjoy yourself again.**

**Just be careful, don’t do anything too dangerous.**

**Maybe we should talk about branching out again what you get back. We used to have people over all the time, maybe we can broaden our horizons again now that we’re understanding how to live around all this new technology.**

**Just be safe and have a good time, Vex’ahlia. I’ll see you when you get home.**

Of course it would be Vax who said what she needed to hear. Her brother may as well have been a mind reader. While he might have made her feel like she wouldn’t be breaking some vampire law by not disappearing into the night, never to see Percy again, it didn’t cure the real problem.

How could she ask him to do this again.

She tucked her phone away. “You’re very sweet Percy. And I…wish things were different.”

“We can pretend to be normal if you want, but we’re not. Things don’t have to be different if you don’t want them to be.” And then he kissed her. And her fangs were still sharp, though not as long anymore, and yes he could taste his blood still lingering on her tongue, but he didn’t care. She was kissing him back, pulling him closer to her, not pretending to be normal for just a moment, just allowing herself to be Vex’ahlia who wanted Percival.

She would explain it to Vax later. Besides, he had been saying for years that she needed to make more meaningful connections again. He probably just didn’t expect her to choose a human for that. Percy was different though, she wasn’t a monster to him and there was something more than that that called them together. He was…a piece of the puzzle she had been missing. But it was too soon and too scary to think about that right now, right now she just wanted to kiss him.

The rest would come later.


End file.
